Grove Hall NRT - Neighborhood Response Team

Posted: January 4, 2012 Nancy J Conrad

NRT "talk"

Due to the excessively cold weather, the
January 4, 2012 Grove Hall NRT
“walk” was replaced by a Grove Hall NRT "talk." Attendees were
also grateful because it also gave them a chance to catch up on their
notes
that had gotten behind over the holidays.

Mrs. Horton brought detailed proof of many issues regarding property
close to where she lives with addresses, conversations and photos on
your cellphone. Dr.Cendeno-Zamor described the frightening problem
that occurred in her building. She was advised on how to stay in
contact with Project RIGHT especially on the nights when she works late
and is alone in the building.

Problem property review

Michael then moved into a review of all the properties the NRT has been
monitoring over the last six months. Wherever appropriate, the police provided
confirmation regarding the issues through their police report summaries
while ISD had back up information on code enforcement issues.

"The NRT approach to neighborhood problem resolution works really
well." Michael Kozu likes this approach better than attempting to work
with city agencies one at a time. “We highly recommend all problems
get logged into Citizens Connect to establish a tracking number. I
usually follow that up, though, with e-mail to the appropriate city
department."

“How do we keep track of progress on the issues logged with the City?
Well, first we track problem properties by address. Then we follow up
on problems about that address through City of Boston tracking numbers.”

NRT an effective model

The Neighborhood Response Team is an initiative out of the city of
Boston. Any neighborhood-based organization can reach out to the City
and request that an NRT be established in their area.

"Is it better that an NRT be run by a Safe Neighborhood Initiative
organization?" The group said: "No, an SNI is a broader-based
initiative. An NRT looks in detail at the neighborhood - at crime,
housing, code enforcement, transportation issues and the condition of
the infrastructure."

He added that "It’s better that a local neighborhood organization
coordinate the NRT. Someone has to keep track of the data. The city
departments and elected officials that attend are resources that help
make a difference but it's the neighborhood that has to keep track and
follow-up on the properties and the promises. That's why it's really
important to get out into the neighborhood and hold the walks.”

"How often do we meet? We've been meeting every two weeks since the
middle of July 2010. What's interesting,” he continued, "is that our
walks will often target a specific area, and we’re lucky if we make it
through one third of that. What we find is that people come out of
their homes and businesses, they join us and they let us know what's
really going on in the neighborhood. The whole process works really
well."